I was running and catching my own breath para maabutan ang first class ko dahil absent na ako kahapon at ang una kong ginawa kaninang umaga ay ihatid ang mga kapatid ko sa bahay.
But first, I made sure that our father and his lover weren't there anymore.
My mother didn't know about what happened yesterday—yet. But I was sure she'll eventually discover.
Wala lang akong lakas ng loob na sabihin sa kanya ngayon because I know she have a lot to deal first in the hospital.
"Balmer, Loreenie Grac—"
"Present!" I shouted as my professor called my name for the attendance, and then I made my way to my seat but I stopped because he spoke.
"You're late," he said. His glasses were resting above the bridge of his nose and staring at me through the thin silver frame above it.
"I am not." I fixed my posture to stare back at him. "I was even five seconds early."
His brows collided, and then he checked the time on his old wristwatch. After that, I sat down because the time told him I was right and didn't argue further.
"Why were you absent yesterday?" Keisha asked—not minding to lower her voice even though the professor started the lecture.
"My Dad," I answered with a shrug.
She quickly understood what I meant.
"What did he do?" Mika asked—joining the conversation.
I played with my pen on my hand and pouted my lips a little before answering, "Brought home a bitch." Nagkibit balikat ako. "He also slapped me but you shouldn't be worried because I slapped him back."
Mahina akong tumawa, habang sila naman ay nag aalalang nakatitig sa akin.
"You taught me well. Tapos sasabihin ko naman sayo kung hindi ako nakabawi," I added to make them less worried.
"Was it hard?" Keisha asked.
"His slap or mine?" I tilted my head.
"Both," she replied.
My lips twitched to the side to recall, and then I responded, "It was quits. Both of our cheeks had a handprint."
Kung sa ibang tao ko 'to sinasabi, they would surely think that I was out of my mind because I was making fun of something serious—physical abuse, to be exact.
"You sure, you okay?" Keisha asked again to make sure.
"Yep." I nodded and focused my attention to the professor in front because I needed to catch up with the lesson.
Foreign language ang subject namin sa klaseng 'to kaya kailangan ko talagang mag focus dahil medjo mahirap aralin.
So far as a second year tourism student, I've already learned six languages, excluding English and Filipino.
I know how to speak French, Italian, Spanish, Japanese, Mandarin, and Korean.
If you think that's a lot, then you'll be mind blown if I tell you that Mika knows almost all of the languages around the world.
Kaya minsan, nagugulat nalang ako whenever we tour abroad because she can speak their language fluently like she was a local.
"Class dismiss," the professor announced two hours later, and then he quickly exited the room.
My classmates stood up synchronically as they grabbed their bags to leave while memorizing German language kaya they sounded like witches chanting spells.
